MotoGP Blog

In my qualifying analysis I talked about the Lorenzo domination of the qualifying session. In the race, it was all about domination again, but this time Pedrosa was in control.

Following another Qatar-like launch off the line, Pedrosa led into the first corner and never looked in danger of being passed. Rossi, Lorenzo and Hayden all got decent starts, and Stoner in particular was away well to cross the line third at the end of lap 1. It was not to last as the World Champion continued to suffer the poor front-end grip that has plagued his weekend. He first dropped to 5th at the end of lap 2 as Rossi and Hayden muscled past, then put himself pretty much out of contention with a trip through a gravel trap on lap 3.

The front runners settled into a pattern of Pedrosa, Rossi, Lorenzo and Hayden that remained for the rest of the race. Although Hayden began to close on Lorenzo mid-way through the race, a loss of rear traction and an excursion off the racing line as a result indicated the Honda was at the limits of it’s adhesion to stay in touch.

Meanwhile, Stoner was on a recovery charge. Read the rest of this entry »

Domination. A most suitable word to describe Lorenzo’s performance today. He hit the provisional pole very early on, and was only dislodged from the top spot throughout the session for a few brief moments. To have delivered a shockingly fast lap, beating the fastest 990cc pole (Capirossi with a 1:39.064 in 2006) with a 1:38.9, then to pull a 1:38.7, then a 1:38.6 and this is the kicker, to then go out there and take a further half a second off his previous best to deliver a 1:38.189 was nothing short of domination.

The closest anyone came to rivalling Lorenzo was his arch-enemy Pedrosa, with a 1:38.789 leaving the gap between pole and 2nd a startling 0.600 secs. That is the same gap as exists between 2nd and 8th on the grid tomorrow, to put it in perspective. Hayden also did well, although in a post-qualifying interview he sounded like he felt he had a package to go faster, which may well bode well for his race tomorrow.
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It is early days in the lifecycle of the Jerez round. However, the riders are already working hard.

First and foremost, after the glassy smoothness of Qatar, Jerez is more of a bumpy nightmare of a track. The tarmac has been strained by the attentions of F1 cars and their (now removed) traction control systems, resulting in bumps and ripples at each slow and medium-paced corner. This is unsettling the bikes through these corners, and the winner on Sunday will be decided in no small part by the rider and team that manages to dial out the effects of the F1 ripples to get the traction down. The layout is also dominated by a fast sequence of right-handers two-thirds of the way through the lap. It is a tyre-eater.

How are the riders approaching the task of setting up? Judging by how loose the bikes under acceleration out of corners, traction control has been turned right down. The nature of the bumps is causing the TC to cut in too early, interrupting the power flow out of the corner, and riders are better able to judge and control the required grip with their right hand.

Under braking the bikes look more lively than Qatar. We were treated to slow-mo close-ups of many riders braking into Expo ‘92 (the first corner after the start/finish straight), the back wheel lifting significantly. Upset by more of those ripples, every bike looked a handful, and the Ducati more than most, even in Stoner’s hands.

This all resulted a Yamaha close-out of the top three places, only Toseland (apparently suffering from a cold) lagging a little in 8th. Stoner looked strong in the early stages, but lost the front at a fast left-hander and never troubled the top 5 again. Lorenzo and Rossi swapped fastest times, both Fiat Yamahas looking impressive. The Repsol Hondas look to be competitive. Honda having now provided Hayden with the 08 chassis with Pedrosa’s modifications from pre-Qatar testing, Hayden repaid Pedrosa for his mods by knocking him down to 5th in the session by 0.089 seconds.

The Kawasakis and Suzukis appeared to be struggling to adapt to the bumps. Ant West in particular trying very hard, getting the Kwak sideways and producing the first sighting this season of blue tyre smoke as he span up the rear. Sadly, this industry left him still down towards the bottom of the field, but perhaps with more of a feel for the track.

What of Ducati though? Melandri, anonymous down in 15th, Guintoli and Elias on the Alice bikes 16th and 18th. Even Stoner, with his off, did not look composed or particularly comfortable. Ducati need to find another rider that can make the package work: just think what would happen to their title challenge this year if Stoner is out for three races with an injury - they will be left racing the customer bikes at the back of the field.

On customer bikes - Dovizioso continues to impress, pulling 7th place out of the hat with a consistent, silky performance, fastest of the satellites with the exception of Edwards, and faster than the works Suzukis and Kawasakis. An impressive result.

No qualifying tyres were used today, so we can expect times to tumble tomorrow - what is exciting is that even now we only have half a second (give or take) between the top six, and all the title contenders are right up there, whether Bridgestone or Michelin is the tyre of choice. The gap is only going to narrow - tune in tomorrow for a qualifying update.

This weekend at Jerez the attention of the press will be on two young Spaniards - Pedrosa and Lorenzo. The last time the two competed in the same race at the circuit was three years ago, when Pedrosa (Honda) took the honours, leading from lights to flag in something of a procession. Lorenzo (Honda) could manage only 6th. This result would be mirrored through the season, Pedrosa dominant and Lorenzo consistent but outpaced by a couple of riders by the name of Stoner and Dovizioso.

We can expect it to be closer than 1st and 6th this weekend. In my earlier post I’ve predicted the two Spaniards will be fighting for the win with Stoner. All the teams have done so much testing here however, we can pick any three works riders and have a good chance of landing the top three.

What about Tony Elias? The third Spaniard in the field may have a hard time shining on his Alice customer Ducati. His history at the track on MotoGP bikes is better than the average. A lowly 12th in 2005, taking out Rossi at turn 1 in 2006 before managing 4th place, and repeating the feat without taking out Rossi in 2007, the same result for 2008 would be more than welcome, it would be something of a miracle.

The two best enemies in MotoGP are back together, in the first of three rounds on their home soil. Let the civil war commence.

Not MotoGP at all this, but this doesn’t happen every day. The ill-starred Foggy Petronas team is no more, and Superbike News have reported that the stuff is up for grabs on “t’internet” as Foggy would call it. It’s worth a look, as the equipment varies from the standard (tool chests) to the bizarre (moped seats, anyone?). Foggy Petronas did not fail due to lack of equipment, that’s for sure.

Here’s a couple of items to whet you appetite:

• The team trailer, complete with hospitality.
• Ohlins suspension parts.
• Aprons, name badges and flags.
• A reception desk.

And lots more. I claim the Corser leathers…

The first act of the Riders Safety Commission has been to request the 2009 race be held in April, allowing temperatures to be around 5 degrees higher.

This is a sensible move to improve the prevalent conditions, and you might hope that as a result Jerez (and associated parties and Spanish madness) would return to be the season opener. However, Qatar is keen to hold on to the honour of the opening race, and have recently signed a deal to hold a MotoGP round until 2016. This may mean Dorna need to delay the start of the season until April in 2009. This compresses the rest of the calendar by a few weeks, but is not unmanageable. It does mean a long, MotoGP-free winter though.

Who is up for starting a campaign to get Jerez back as Round 1?

Next week sees Jerez 2008, and what our Spanish and Italian readers will view as the real start to the season. The circuit is a twisty affair, with no long straights for power to rule. Last year this was evident in that the domination of Stoner at Qatar was reversed, the Aussie being bumped down the order over the first few laps to a lowly 9th, struggling with aggressive overtakes and cold Bridgestones which seemed to spin up rather than provide traction. Up at the front it was a procession, with Rossi hitting the front half way through lap 1 and never budging, despite Pedrosa being less than a couple of bike lengths behind him for most of the race.
Read the rest of this entry »

A new reference section is today born. Tracks will build to be a quick reference guide to all of the active MotoGP circuits on the calendar. Designed to provide you with the detail you need, with links out to material of you need more, we hop you will find this useful. If there is any other data you think would be useful, let me know.

It started in the off season. Honda were on-again off-again with their new pneumatic-valved engine throughout testing. Then Dani fell of, injuring his hand in January and let a bitchy comment slip to reporters about being worried about the development of the bike as “[Hayden] has not been very beneficial when he has had that responsibility in the past.” Needless to say, Nicky was not best pleased by this, although like the gentleman he is, he responded by saying he was just getting on with the job.

As a result of this, it is reported that the Honda garage now benefits from a wall of silence between the two riders, which can hardly have been helped by Honda choosing to provide ex-champion Hayden with an 07 spec bike, while sending Pedrosa out on a 08 chassis with a developed version of the 07 engine. This decision seems a bit harsh, especially as Hayden had done the majority of the development work after Pedrosa’s injury, and it confirms Pedrosa as #1 Honda rider this season.

A team in crisis as Honda are - the 2008 engine will only be tested by the riders again in April after Estoril - need the riders to work together to improve performance. Even Fiat Yamaha, with their actual wall between their bikes, has better co-operation between riders. It does not bode well for Pedrosa’s or Hayden’s title challenge, or for my season prediction.

MotoGPBlog reported last year that there was a startling lack of representatives regularly turning up to meet to discuss safety prior to each round; only Rossi and Capirossi were regulars, following KR Jnr’s resignation part way through the 2007 season. Ezpeleta made it known in January that he wanted the situation to improve, rightly so, and as a result the Rider Safety Commission will now consist of one rider from each manufacturer - except Ducati which has nominated both riders. Obviously the boys at Ducati are done testing for the year and have time to spare…

• Ducati: Stoner and Melandri
• Yamaha: Rossi
• Suzuki: Capirossi
• Kawasaki: Hopkins
• Honda: Pedrosa

The commission was formed following the death of Daijiro Kato at Suzuka in 2003. In the past the Commission has tested riding under lights at Qatar, requested Donington be resurfaced after the wet race in 2007, and has requested modifications here and there to circuits to improve safety. Having more riders, hopefully actively participating, will see standards of safety in the sport continue to improve.